Lather producing machine



March 24. 1970 A. B. CiA MPBELL 3,

LATHER PRODUCING MACHINE Filed May 29. 1968 INVE/V roe United StatesPatent 3,502,247 LATI-IER PRODUCING MACHINE Albert E. Campbell, GlenEllyn, Ill., assignor to Royal Products Company, Bensenville, III., acorporation of Illinois Filed May 29, 1968, Ser. No. 732,955 Int. Cl.B67d 5/58 US. Cl. 222190 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improvedsealing connection for lather machines between the bottom wall of adetachable liquid soap reservoir and the top wall of the whippingchamber. An internally threaded sleeve projects from the reservoir intoa boss extending from the whipping chamber to a point near the entranceof the whipping chamber. An improved liquid soap valve threadablyengages the sleeve.

This invention relates to lather machines and in particular to lathermachines having a liquid soap reservoir separate and detachable from awhipping chamber.

In the conventional type of lather machine currently in use, liquid soapis stored in a reservoir which is a separate, detachable unit locatedimmediately above a whipping chamber within which the lather is formed.A passageway interconnects the two units and suitable liquid valve meansare provided in the passageway to secure the two units and control theflow of liquid soap between the upper reservoir unit and the lowerwhipping chamber. In the continuous use of such machines, there is oftenfound to be an annoying, persistent, and sometimes costly leakage of theliquid soap under the valve and the O-ring seal used between the bottomwall of the reservoir and the top wall of the whipping chamber. Withsome machines the leakage is minimal and merely requires attentionduring normal maintenance, whereas with others, the leakage isexcessive. In the machines having excessive leakage, the problem becomessevere and requires a complete shutdown of the machine and a thoroughcleaning of not only the space between the bottom reservoir wall and thetop wall of the whipping chamber, but also of the dried liquid soapwhich has continuously oozed out onto the rest of the machine and ontothe working area where the machine is located. Furthermore, the leakagein the seal between the two units is rarely correctable. This requiresthe operator either to continuously service the leaking machine or topurchase a new machine with the hope that the leakage of the new machinewill be minimal.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, there isprovided a more reliable seal between the bottom wall of a separateliquid reservoir and the top wall of the whipping chamber. Specifically,in the improved sealing connection of the present invention, aninternally threaded sleeve or nipple projects slightly from the liquidsoap outlet of the reservoir into detachable snug-fit engagement in arecess in a boss extending upwardly from the top wall of the whippingchamber. The present improved sealing connection prevents the liquidsoap from seeping under the valve means and into the space between thereservoir and whipping chamber by utilizing the projecting sleeve andrecess to eifectively seal such space. In fact, the present inventionprovides the improved sealing connection without the use of any type ofO-ring seal between the reservoir and whipping chamber since any liquidsoap which by chance would seep under the valve means would merely beconducted directly into the whipping chamber.

The invention will be better understood from the following detaileddescription thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a lather machineillustrating the upper liquid reservoir and the lower whipping chamberwith the improved sealing connection therebetween constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the lather machine having the improvedsealing connection of the present invention; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of the sealing connection and alsoillustrating an improved valve seal.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, the lather machine 10 is of the parallel,direct delivery type in which liquid soap contained in a detachableupper liquid soap reservoir 12 is controllably released into a whippingchamber 14 for being whipped into lather by means of a whipping screw 16rapidly rotated by a motor 18. A series of heating elements 20 in aheating chamber 22 heat the liquid soap in reservoir 12. For convenienceof illustration, the whipping screw and heating elements are not shownin FIG- ure 1, but are shown in the sectional view of FIGURE 2. A motorswitch 24 is mounted by suitable mounting means 26 to the lather machinehousing 28. Actuation of a liquid soap valve in the soap reservoir isobtained by depressing an actuator 30 which operatively engages thevalve stem 32. As can be seen from FIGURE 2, the actuator 30 alsooperates the motor switch 24, with the actuating sequence arranged sothat the motor 18 is op erated shortly before the soap valve isoperated.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the present invention is concerned with providingan improved sealing connection between the reservoir bottom wall 42 andthe top wall 44 of the whipping chamber. The sealing connection 40includes a sleeve or nipple 46 depending downwardly from the bottom wall42 at the liquid soap outlet 48; and an upraised boss 50 extendingupwardly from the top wall 44 of the whipping chamber at the liquid soapinlet port 52.

The detailed construction of the improved sealing connection 40 can bemore readily seen by referring to the sectional views of FIGURES 2 and3. At the liquid soap outlet 48, the reservoir bottom wall 42 includes aramp portion 54 extending at an angle to the bottom wall and ending in aflat portion 56 which is parallel to the bottom wall 42. The sleeve ornipple 46 is secured by brazing, or by any other suitable securingtechnique, the upper cylindrical outer surface 58 of the sleeve 46 tothe flat portion 56 around substantially the entire surface 58 exceptfor a small portion thereof which is secured to the side wall 60 at asmall portion 62 thereof.

The boss 50 extending upwardly from the top wall 44 of the whippingchamber 14, can be formed by securing a separate member to the top wall44 or can be formed as an extrusion of the top wall 44. It may be notedfrom FIGURES 2 and 3 that the top 60 of the boss 50 butts against thebottom of the fiat portion 56 of the reservoir bottom wall. The boss 50includes a cylindrical recess 64 which extends into the boss to form ashoulder 66 for receiving the sleeve or nipple 46. As can be seen fromFIGURES 2 and 3, when the liquid soap FIGURE 3 illustrates thepassageway for the liquid soap which passes through the hollow, threadedinterior of the boss 46, with the boss 46 extending slightly below thetop surface of the top wall 44 of the whipping chamber. To complete thesealing connection, the externally threaded valve seat member 70threadably engages the boss 46. The member 70 includes a flange 72 forsecuring the member to the sleeve. Within the interior portion of thevalve member 70 there is included an angled interior ceiling 74 whichcooperates with an O-ring seal 76 disengageably mounted in a recess 78at the end 80 of valve stem 32. The valve is maintained in sealingengagement, with the O-ring 76 firmly against the ceiling 74, by meansof a spring 82 having one end engaged on the top 84 of the flange 72 andthe other end maintained in position by a stop member 86 mounted on thevalve stem. As shown in FIGURE 3, the valve stem 32 slidably operatesthrough an opening 88 in the valve member 70, with the opening 88 beingsealed by the -O-ring seal 76. It is especially to be noted that theO-ring seal 76 can be readily replaced by removing stop member 86 andvalve seat member 70 so as to obtain access to valve stem end 80. O-ring76 can then be slipped off of the valve stem 32 and a new O-ring readilyplaced in position in recess 78. Alternatively, a suitable resilientcoating of resin material can be provided on a sloping top of a valvestem end 80. The sloping top would match the surface of the ceiling 74,so that better control of the flow of liquid soap might be obtained andthe O-ring seal could be eliminated.

It is also to be particularly noted that no O-ring seal is required inthe sealing connection between the liquid soap reservoir and thewhipping chamber. In normal operation, when the actuator 30 is depressedto release the seal 76 from ceiling 74 the liquid soap in the reservoirflows through the opening 88, through the hollow valve memb r 70, andthrough the passageways in sleeve 46 and boss 50 into the whippingchamber 14. The space between the bottom wall 42 and the top wall 44 issealed by the snug-fit engagement of the sleeve 46 in the recess 64 ofthe boss 50. If desired, an O-ring seal can be placed in a circularcavity 90 at the top of the boss 50, although such a seal is notnormally required to maintain an adequate sealing connection betwen thereservoir and whipping chamber. Any liquid soap which may find its wayunder the flange 72 of the valve seat member 70 is merely transportedalong the threads inside the sleeve 46 and is eventually directed to thebottom 68 of the sleeve which is immediately adjacent the liquid soapinlet 52 of the whipping chamber 14. Thus, a reliable sealing connectionis conveniently provided between the bottom of the soap reservoir andthe top wall of the whipping chamber.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a lather machine having a separable liquid soap reservoir andwhipping chamber, the whipping chamber being enclosed by top, bottom andside walls thereof and having a lather outlet at one end and a liquidsoap inlet port in said top wall at the other end of said chamber, theliquid soap reservoir defined by top, bottom and side walls thereof andhaving a liquid soap outlet in said bottom wall aligned with said liquidsoap inlet port, an improved sealing connection between said liquid soapoutlet and inlet, the improvement comprising:

a hollow, cylindrical boss extending upwardly from said whipping chambertop wall at said liquid soap inlet, said boss having an inner diameterforming a passageway communicating with said liquid soap inlet to saidwhipping chamber and a shoulder within said passageway defined by acylindrical recess in said boss:

an internally threaded cylindrical nipple depending from said reservoirbottom wall and having one end secured to said reservoir bottom wall atsaid liquid soap outlet for communicating with said passageway, saidnipple in detachable snug fit engagement in the recess in said boss withthe other end of said nipple bottomed on said shoulder; and

Valve means for controlling the flow of liquid soap between saidreservoir and said whipping chamber, said valve means including anexternally threaded valve seat member threadably engaging said nippleand having a flange on the upper portion of said member for securingsaid member to said nipple.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said shoulder is immediatelyadjacent the junction between said whipping chamber and said liquid soapinlet thereto so that liquid soap in said passageway is directed to theend of said nipple at the entrance to the whipping chamber.

3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said reservoir bottom wallincludes .a raised portion at said liquid soap outlet mounted on the topof said boss, and wherein said nipple is secured to said raised portionand projects into said boss to said shoulder for sealing the junctionbetween the top of said boss and said reservoir bottom wall raisedportion.

4. The improvement of claim 3, including a cavity in the top of saidboss, and sealing means in said cavity for sealing said boss, saidreservoir bottom wall raised portion, and said nipple.

5. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said valve seat member includes avalve seat ceiling in the inner portion thereof communicating with saidpassageway, and wherein said valve means includes a valve stem slidablyengaging said valve seat member, a ledge at one end of said valve stemwithin said member, and an O-ring detachably mounted at the junctionbetween said ledge and said valve stem and sealably engaging said valveseat ceiling.

6. The improvement of claim 5, including a recess at said junctionbetween said ledge and said valve stem, said O-ring seal detachablymounted within said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,871,058 l/l959 Puglia 222X2,925,202 2/1960 Stevens 222-190 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner H.S. LANE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 222325, 510

